WINNERS
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Polaris takes Neo hackathons to the next level
Compete for $500,000 in PRIZES
Preparing developers from concept to competition with a series of panel discussions, hands-on workshops, one-on-one consultation, and access to a community DAO. Winning projects will be admitted into Neo's US $200 million EcoBoost program for incubation support.
Defi project
Examples: Exchange platforms that support the swapping of NEP-17 tokens. Protocols that can read smart contracts deployed on-chain and support swaps with tokens in a liquidity pool are encouraged. Lending protocols that can support mainstream assets on Neo.
$35,000 Grand prize + multipliers
NFT & metaverse
Examples: Metaverse related, open-world games. Projects that provide infrastructure and focus on a user-generated content. Novel use of NFT technology in such areas as LP asset proofs, NFT lending, whitelisting, gaming etc.
$35,000 Grand prize + multipliers
General
Examples: Any project that makes novel use of Neo technologies. Projects that bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital world.
$35,000 Grand prize + multipliers
Infrastructure
Examples: A decentralized, secure, and stable price feed service built on top of Neo’s Oracle system. Comprehensive applications based on NeoFS or infrastructures that boost the utility of the NeoFS service.
$35,000 Grand prize + multipliers
DAO
Examples: Applications that use governance systems to make decisions or manage a treasury. Platforms that allow individuals to create and manage proposals that can be voted on by a wider community.
$35,000 Grand prize + multipliers
Plus 15 Excellence Awards
Excellence awards will be given out to outstanding projects in any category that demonstrates excellent technical execution and use of the Neo blockchain. One Excellence Award will be reserved for students.
$8,000 + multipliers
Timeline
March 7 - April 5
PLANATHON
Preparation is key
Before you get stuck into development, we want you to take some time to really flesh out your Polaris project. This includes evaluating the suitability of your ideas for blockchain, organizing a team, drafting a business plan, identifying delivery milestones, and so forth. We understand that what you develop during Polaris may only be just the beginning of something fantastic.
The teams with the best plans will win “multipliers” between 1.1x and 1.5x that will be applied to any prizes won at the conclusion of the Hackathon phase. For example, if your team wins a 1.5x multiplier and you win a grand prize of $35,000, you will actually receive $52,500.
Submissions
Participants are not required to compete in the Planathon to make a submission in the Hackathon. However, teams that take part in the Planathon will also have the advantage of having their final submission judged against the background of their original plan. Participants will first need to register on DevPost and then submit their plans via the Google Form linked here. Short written feedback will be provided to all submissions.
Multiplier prizes will be awarded on april 11
April 12 - May 9
hackathon
time to buidl
Submissions for the Hackathon phase of the Polaris Launchpad open after the results of the Planathon have been announced. This is when you put your skills to the test and start building your project.
If you need help getting started, visit Neo’s Developers Portal to find documentation, tutorials, and tooling options. If you haven’t already, please join the Neo Discord https://discord.gg/R8v48YA, where the Neo community (who is responsible for many of the tools you will be using) will be ready and waiting to provide support, advice, and encouragement.
submissions
Hackathon entries must by submitted via DevPost and satisfy various criteria and including a GitHub link with source code, a link to a live demo, a smart contract deployed to the Neo N3 TestNet if applicable, and use of one of the common open source licenses such as Apache 2.0. To make a submission and view the full requirements, visit the DevPost event here.
Hackathon prizes will be awarded on may 30
June 8 - June 28
polaris plus - quadratic funding
Community-led funding
Following the conclusion of the Hackathon, a bonus Polaris Plus round will be held, in which the Neo community gets to decide the winners. The best Hackathon submissions, regardless of whether they received awards or not, will be invited to join us on DoraHacks for a round community voting. In this special event, GAS token holders will be able to use their funds to vote for their favorite projects. Neo has set aside a minimum of $57,500 to match these votes through quadratic means.
Submissions
Teams must be invited to participate in the Polaris Plus phase based on their performance in the Hackathon. Teams will be required to manually join the DoraHacks platform to be eligible.
• RULES UPDATE AS OF JUNE 28
In the spirit of a better and more fair community voting environment per Neo’s vision of hoping that behind every vote is a real user, the Polaris Plus voting rules have been updated to include two phases.
At the conclusion of Phase 1, $10,000 of the total prize pool will be distributed equally across all participating teams, and $10,000 will be distributed to teams based on their rankings as determined by all valid votes in Phase 1. Phase 2 voting will begin on July 5th. At the conclusion of Phase 2, the remaining prize pool will be distributed to the teams based on their rankings from all valid votes in Phase 2.
At the conclusion of Phase 1, $10,000 of the total prize pool will be distributed equally across all participating teams, and $10,000 will be distributed to teams based on their rankings as determined by all valid votes in Phase 1. Phase 2 voting will begin on July 5th. At the conclusion of Phase 2, the remaining prize pool will be distributed to the teams based on their rankings from all valid votes in Phase 2.
PHASE 1: FUNDING CLOSED ON JUNE 28
Polaris Plus Phase 1
PHASE 2: FUNDING WILL CLOSE ON JULY 19
Polaris Plus Phase 2
Events & Workshops
march 23, 2:00pm utc
Infrastructure discussion on the capabilities of Neo's oracle and NeoFS.
april 4, 2:00pm UTC
Neo Blockchain Toolkit features and contract development environment preparation.
april 11, 2:00pm UTC
Quick start workshop on smart contract programming with NeoFS & Oracle.
TBA
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Link
Judges & Speakers
DA HONGFEI
Neo
Founder
ERIK ZHANG
Neo
Founder
John Devadoss
NGD Enterprise
President
John Wang
NGD
Head of Neo Ecosystem Growth
steven liu
NGD
Head of Development
Harry Pierson
NGD Enterprise
Chief Software Architect
Guil
AxLabs
Builder & Founder
TYLER ADAMS
COZ
Founder
Stanislav B.
NSPCC
NeoFS Architect, CIO
Claude Muller
AxLabs
Builder
Michael Fabozzi
Rentfuse
Founder
vang1ong7ang
NeoBurger
Researcher
Vincent Geneste
GhostMarket
CEO
Jason Tezanos
Humswap
Smart Contracts Engineer
Adrian F.
Flamingo Finance
Lead Developer
Matthew B.
Poplar Protocol
Product Manager
Odd Roland
Flamingo
Developer
Ori Levi
NFTrade
CEO
Hong Wan
NC State University
Associate Professor
Navin Reddy
Telusko Edutech Pvt. Ltd.
CEO
Fan Lei
Shanghai Jiaotong University
Ph.D Associate Professor
Yifan He
Red Date Technology
CEO
DA HONGFEI
Neo
Founder
ERIK ZHANG
Neo
Founder
John Devadoss
NGD Enterprise
President
John Wang
NGD
Head of Neo Ecosystem Growth
steven liu
NGD
Head of Development
Harry Pierson
NGD Enterprise
Chief Software Architect
NEO LAUNCHPAD alumni
Check our some of the projects that won prizes then went on to receive funding and incubation support through Neo's EcoBoost program. Will we be adding your project to this list?
Rentfuse
Rentfuse is an NFT renting protocol that won Best NFT Project in the recent Neo Frontier Launchpad hackathon. It allows borrowers to use an NFT for a predetermined period of time in exchange for GAS, without the owner relinquishing custody of the asset.
Tothemoon Universe
TOTHEMOON is a strategic community-building NFT game built on Neo N3 where collectors engage with the moon-themed metaverse. This metaverse requires communities to organize into teams on various moon plots. Moon plot owners and moon teams have their own governance systems with rules set by these plot owners. TOTHEMOON won an Excellence Award in the Neo Frontier Launchpad.
Humswap
Humswap is a DeFi platform built on Neo N3 that will offer liquidity pools for various tokens, a marketplace for NFTs, and token swapping. It will also provide an opportunity for users to play games and win prizes. Humswap won an Excellence Award in the Neo Frontier Launchpad.
Lyrebird
Lyrebird won the Best DeFi project award in the Neo Frontier Launchpad with its algorithmic stablecoin and synthetic coin protocol. Lyrebird is aimed at being the first stablecoin on the Neo N3 blockchain.
Nekohit
NekoHit is a platform that seeks to connect content creators with individuals who can offer funding on a per-project basis, as opposed to the subscription model used by other solutions such as Patreon. NekoHit won an Excellence Award in the Neo Frontier Launchpad.